the art of scrapin' through

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

Channelling is a privilege for any Accepted, and one should never use it carelessly. Mateo knows this - he's been taught it extensively at his time growing up in the Collegium, and he'd never dreaming of abusing such a gift, especially for something trivial. Which is why, when he calls for Remi at the crack of dawn, it's absolutely a serious matter. (As far as his father knows, anyway).

Because when the Lullaby does appear, it will be within one of the cells in Judgement's Needle, to find his son horrifically hungover - still half drunk, in truth - and wearing very little. "I know you are only able to be here for a few seconds, but I wanted you to know I was here. Would you be able to let me out, when you come back for good?" he asks groggily, rubbing his forehead and squinting against the light.

REMI

the alchemist

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

It's Mateo's fault that Remi is wearing nothing when he arrives.

Given Ronin's recent falling out with Safrin combined with the effects Leafchange has on the Nova, the Taliesin's nights have been spent sweetening their kisses with whiskey before disappearing into dreams whose skies are barren of stars.

So it is that the Lullaby learns he can be channelled even when he'd put himself intentionally to sleep, and so when he finds himself standing in a cool shaft of light somewhere chilly and without any clothes, his first reaction is to assume there is some monster or other afoot who will hopefully take the attention away from his being naked.

Spying only his son and with time enough to hardly hear what Mateo has to say before he can feel the pull of the magic wearing off, Remi has time to laugh—"Mateo!"—before nodding.

///

Not terribly long thereafter, Remi is a fast flyer after all, the Lullaby strolls through the Needle as quietly as he can. Having not really bothered to dress, he was going back to bed after all this he hoped, the Lullaby tugged at the housecoat he wore as he tried to figure out which cell it was his son was in. "Mateo? Dove sei?"

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

"Grazie, papa, Mateo calls after his father, before slumping back down into his new (and hopefully temporary) bedroom, letting his eyes shut so he can imagine he's home instead. Given Stormbreak's position in the sky and that the Needle is something of a wind tunnel, by the time the Lullaby does arrive, the botanist will be slumped, miserable and chilly against the bars of his cell, blearily looking up at the sound of Remi's voice.

"Io sono qui," he trills out through a hoarse laugh, trying to wend his way to his feet. Barefoot and in nothing more than a pair of hot pink underwear, he waits patiently to be found. "One of the guards and I had a great time here last night," he explains. "But I think he may have forgotten I was here when he left. He locked me in. I do not know where my clothes are." Or if he even had any when he came out.

REMI

the alchemist

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Following the trill of his son's voice, it doesn't take Remi long to find him. Mind, he almost could have done it by smell alone given the thick perfume that helped tell the tale of the night before, wafting from the botanist. "Oh you did, mm?" The Lullaby wonders, running his fingers speculatively over the bars of the cell.

Gods, this wasn't even the first time he'd broken a family member out of jail, though hopefully releasing Mateo wouldn't add fuel to a half emotional half-political feud as it had done last time.

Clearing his throat as he reached for the door, the Lullaby gave it a quick yank before loudly coughing to try and drown out the sound of the metal bars as they whined beneath his fingers. "You can channel Ronin if you need someone to help explain that." He murmured with a grin, nodding toward the twisted steel before opening the door.

Sweeping his arm aside as if he were a dutiful doorman, when Mateo came close the Lullaby would snatch him up and pull him close, terrible smell and pink underwear or not. "Stai bene? It is not like you to not be able to talk your way out of places like this."

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

"Yes, I believe so," Mateo grins, his cheeks squashed between two bars of the cell as he peers at his father. And honestly, it could be anything from exactly as the botanist had described it all the way to being arrested and/or assaulted as a result of being drunk and disorderly. In his current state, Mateo is neither willing nor able to think about it in too much detail, and he lets out a soft cheer as Remi draws close enough to be able to free him.

Moaning dramatically at the shriek of metal against his pounding head, Mateo emerges, squinting, into freedom, and folds himself instantly into his father's embrace. "Mm, you are warm," he says, voice muffled and face pressed into the fabric of Remi's house coat. "I am alright. I do not think I like it here, though. It is very..." Gesturing vaguely with one hand in the hope that Remi will just know what he means, the botanist does nothing to straighten himself up.

REMI

the alchemist

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Exhaling and trying not to worry too much about the glitter he knows is now in his beard, the Lullaby wonders vaguely if this is where he's supposed to offer his son some hard truths about shaping up and how he can't always rely on Remi to just appear and save him. Thinking about it, that didn't seem true at all. The Lullaby planned to always be around for his son, and if that meant bending a few bars so that he didn't have to sleep on a cot, what of it? Remi's had never been the moral compass one would ever show off, nor had he ever tried to suggest it should ever be followed by anyone other than himself.

"I do not like it here either." Remi murmured into his son's curls. "Just as long as you are alright."

Straightening, Remi glances over his shoulder down one of the halls to make sure the pair are still alone, before turning his attention back to Mateo. "Come on, I can walk you home. Ronin is...having a tough time right now so I cannot stay, but if you do not feel like being alone, I can always bring you back with me?"

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

It's just as well that Remi isn't in the mood to deliver any home truths, because Mateo is in no state to hear them. And besides (is what he'd say, were he cognizant of the lecture he could be missing), if not his father, the botanist wouldn't be beyond channelling any other god or spirit for the privilege. Such is the life he has been blessed to lead, and so on.

Humming the affirmative - he might not remember the particulars of how he'd gotten into the cell, but he's reasonably certain he enjoyed himself - Mateo straightens up only enough to tuck himself against his father's side, squinting into the daylight. "Yeeesh, it is Leafchange," he remembers with a scrunch of his nose.

"I love you, papa, but the walk home is plenty, thank you. I do not want to be between you and Dad until Deepfrost." Blissfully ignorant of why else Ronin might be having a tough time, Mateo assumes it's just the usual deer bullshit.

REMI

the alchemist

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

Wrinkling his nose, Remi debates telling Mateo about what recently had happened with Safrin, before deciding that now was neither the time nor the place. "It sure is." He agrees. Magically reaching for the shadows and tucking them around both he and Mateo as they exit the Needle, it doesn't make them invisible by any stretch, but certainly it makes them a bit harder to make out in the early morning light.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Remi wonders with a grin. Of course this made him think of Isla, and mentally the Lullaby made a note to check in on his old friend.

"So? How are things since I saw you last? Any more magical kisses being given out?"

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

"Oh, I do not know. Perhaps it is the murder in Dad's eyes whenever anybody holds a conversation with you. Do you remember when you used to run the alchemy shop?" Mateo smirks, referring of course to his now flower-shop. "I think we had to close it for a couple of days at one point." Shaking his head and gratefully letting the shadows melt around them, whilst the botanist is still careful where he steps, he pads onto the familiar cobblestones with relative ease.

"Mm, no magical kisses," he says with a smirk. "And I am still waiting to find out more about this new demigod." You know, the one he assumes is the giver of said magical kisses. "I think Everest has gone down to Torchline for a couple of days, though. He did not say why. There have been a lot of ghosts around though, have you noticed?"

REMI

the alchemist

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

"Noooo, I doubt that's it." Remi says, puckering out his lower lip and narrowing his eyes. If anyone could pull off being both murderous and charming it was Ronin, as he'd proven time and time again. Furrowing one brow down at his son, Remi frowns. "I mean...it is always good to take a bit of a break from work."

Right? Right?

"I was almost expecting you to say that was how you ended up in the cell." Chuckling, Remi let his feet carry him down the familiar cobblestones that would lead to the shop that had been Mateo's now longer than it had ever been his.  "Yes, I have noticed. Ludo said that they were not its doing. Or rather, not some trick on its behalf." Given that he was Ludo's demigod, Remi had very few thoughts about the spirits seeming to wander around, but then, as Ludo had pointed out, what happened to them after death had never really been his jurisdiction.

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

"Mmhmmm," Mateo says, nodding and widening his eyes at his father exactly like that GIF and seeming happy to remain snug against Remi's side and in the relative safety of his shadows as they walk. "If I were to be arrested I would hope it would not be for something so obvious." He grins. Public nudity is too on the nose for him, Mateo feels. It should be for something like arson, or blasphemy or something.

Feeling relieved (and sleepy, and thirsty, and maybe a little sick) as the florist's comes into view across the Pacifist Plaza, the botanist furrows his brow and gently nods. "As long as they do not cause too much trouble, I suppose it is the season for it," he murmurs, smiling up at Remi. "Thank you for coming to get me, papa. Tell Dad I hope he is less crazy soon, and we will go for dinner?"

REMI

the alchemist

What good are hands
if there's nothing that they hold

"And yet." The Lullaby counters, waggling his eyebrows and giving Mateo's shoulder a squeeze he hopes doesn't come across as being too paternal.

With everything going on with Starfall, so long as the spirits left Remi and his family alone, he couldn't care less about what they did or why they were here. "Well, if any bother you, let me know. Or...let Ronin know." Chuckling as he imagines Ronin charging antlers-first into a pack of spirits, the Lullaby slows to a halt as they come upon the familiar little shop.

"Ti amo, Mateo." Pressing a kiss to his son's forehead, once he's out of eyesight he'll wipe the cologne-infused sweat from his mouth. For the moment though, he merely hugs his son tightly. "Ti amo." He whispers again, before sending the botanist off to shower and get some proper sleep.

~FIN

And what good are hearts
if you bury them all alone?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!